Fate Strings
by EzMouse
Summary: REPOSTED. AU. Mikan thought she'd be living her fairytale in a new school, but it all comes crashing down when she stands up to a delinquent who's actually the Headmaster's son. Who said getting your happily-ever-after was easy? NxM.
1. Act I: From the Land of Far, Far Away

**Disclaimer:** I do not own the Gakuen Alice animé or manga. It belongs to the great Higuchi Tachibana.

**Important Notice:** This is an old story I wrote back in 2008. I took it down last March 2011 for it undergo revision. That, however, turned out unsuccessful due of my busy schedule and my tendency to procrastinate. There are still loads of typos here and there, but I got too tired to finish revising everything (since each chapter is more than 3000 words long), so I think I'll leave it as it is until I get the time to properly revise.

I just thought I'd post this back up for people who wanted to read it. In this revised version, Hotaru is no longer the reason why Mikan came to Alice High. I apologize in advance for the numerous errors that you spot here. :)

* * *

**Fate Strings**

Written by EzMouse

.

_It's just another modern day fairytale. Not._

* * *

**ACT I**  
_From the Land of Far, Far Away_

* * *

"Mom, I've got butterflies in my tummy!"

Mikan Sakura sat at the front seat of the car, her brown eyes staring impassively outside the car window. Her brown locks which were tied into two pigtails bounced and swayed together with the movement of the car.

"Don't worry, sweetie. Everything will be alright," her mother, Yuka, assured her as she steered her way through the busy streets of Tokyo.

It was around eight o'clock in the morning in the month of October. Tokyo was a big place—a big, _big_ place. There were many tall buildings, vehicles, stoplights—stuff not usually found in the province. The streets were as busy as ever from every corner, even at this early in the morning. Everything was different, not only Tokyo itself, but even the way people looked and dressed.

Mikan didn't like the idea of transferring schools. In fact, she hated it. Transferring schools meant making new friends, starting a new image, and fitting in. Sounds easy? Think again. This is her first time being in a city. She had lived in the province her whole childhood and had no background knowledge about any other place other than that.

Everything was fine at first. She was more than happy to be able to get out and take a whiff at the city, but the ride wasn't as smooth as she thought it would be. Hesitation and fright washed over her the moment they got to Tokyo.

She slumped to her seat and sighed, trying to calm herself. Her mother patted her lap, noticing the change of mood, but kept her eyes fixated on the road. Mikan smiled and stared out the window again, recalling the reasons why she had gone to this trip in the first place.

It was her best friend. That was the reason why she was here. Her best friend had moved to study in a prestigious school in Tokyo and it had been six months since they last saw each other. Yes, they would send letters to each other every now and then, but as time went by, the letters she got from her best friend had been reduced from one to nothing.

She couldn't stand that sort of treatment, which resorted to having forced her mother to bring her to the same school as her best friend's.

Without a second later, the car pulled over in front of the academy gate. After much effort, Mikan finally got the nerve to step out of the car. She got a good look at the school for a while before turning to her mother to wave goodbye.

"You can do it, honey," she whispered, holding onto Mikan's hand and letting go to start the engine. She drove off, leaving Mikan standing alone, waving at the retreating car. Her eyes turned back to inspect the huge gate in front of her.

_The school was huge_.

Just as she was approaching it, a security guard asked her for her ID, which she showed willingly. Giving her a nod, he pushed a button from inside a small room and the gates slowly opened sideways. She bowed politely in appreciation and entered the gate. It started closing behind her and she continued to walk a long cobblestone path that ran straight and in a circle around a rather huge and extravagant fountain just in front of the academy itself.

It had taken her about ten minutes before reaching the academy doors and she immediately spotted the bulletin boards aligned just outside the building. It saved her a lot of time in looking for her room and schedule. Right next to the list of rooms was a map of the whole campus that occupied the whole of the bulletin board. She pointed a finger to the bottom of the map to where she was; the academy door and, glancing at the piece of paper in her hand, she slid her finger all the way to where her room was located.

"There we are. Class B, Room 104," she mumbled to herself as she arranged the papers in her hands.

After getting all the necessary information that she needed, she entered the double doors and was met by a long running corridor that seemed to have no end. She stepped inside as quiet as a mouse, her shoes brushing against the carpeted floor. It had been an eternity and a half, when she realized that she was lost.

Even with the necessary information she had obtained and the ginormous map displayed, she had no idea where to go. It was like the she had forgotten what the map even looked like and she felt like a mouse trapped in a maze that is the school. Everywhere she turned; it felt like she was going deeper and deeper inside the school, far away from her destination point.

Nevertheless, she kept walking. For some reasons, she turned right on every junction, thinking that she might just coincidentally find her room. As she desperately strolled through the corridors, she heard faint footsteps on the next corner. Her pace quickened as she followed the sound and found a tall blonde woman walking casually by.

"Excuse me, Ma'am!" she called out, breaking into a little trot to catch up with her.

The woman spun to her direction, surprised. "Hmm? Were you referring to me?" he said in a voice that was definitely not a woman's. That was an embarrassing mistake.

Having realized this, she bowed apologetically, hiding her face behind her bangs. "Sorry, I was in such a hurry that I thought you were a woman from afar…"

He smiled. "No problem. I get that a lot."

He didn't seem offended by the tone of his voice and Mikan didn't exactly take that as either a good or bad thing. When she got a good look at his features, they were definitely quite feminine, but his posture and body structure was of a man's, no doubt. As he slightly jerked his head to the side, a sparkle caught her eye and she realized that it was a purple earing stuck to his earlobe. A man wearing jewelry; that was uncalled for.

"The last time I checked, I was a man," he said, putting a finger to his chin. "And I'm definitely straight."

Mikan cringed at his words, feeling slightly awkward to where the conversation was going.

He grinned at the girl after noticing her change of mood. "I guess that covers all your questions about my sexuality?"

She forced a smiled as she tried to meet his eyes. "Y-Yeah."

He chuckled silently, unconvinced by her answer. He looked left and right as if trying to see if the coast was clear and he held the first button on his shirt, pulling it gently. "You can check if you want. Just a peek, though. I'm quite the _shy_ person," he continued, winking childishly.

"No, no! I'm good. I believe you," Mikan answered waving a hand in front of her as she giggled at his little joke. He was obviously a very weird person, but by the looks of it, she felt like she can trust him.

The blonde man looked at her from head to toe as he inspected her face seriously. Out of the blue, he tapped his fist to his palm, his face lighting up. "Oh, I remember you! You're that late enrollee, right? What was your name again?" he said, rubbing his temples. "Sa…"

"Sakura. Mikan Sakura," she answered.

He snapped his fingers and pointed at her. "Yes, Mikan Sakura. Right!"

"How did you know?" Mikan mused.

"I was just taking care of your transfer files while I was checking some papers," he answered, showing her a stack of papers in his arm and moving them up and down like he was weighing them. "I'm Narumi Anju. I'm a teacher here," he added.

Mikan's eyes widened with shock. "_You?_ A teacher?" she choked out.

"Yes," Narumi answered. "I'm your class adviser, actually."

"Wow," she muttered, unable to say anything else.

This was a first. Back in the province, all the teachers that Mikan had since kindergarten until now were either her grandpa's so called, _chums_, or some old ladies who probably lived alone with the company of their thirteen cats. Now, her teacher was this androginous looking blonde who actually had some _sense of humor_. Moving to Tokyo was definitely a big change.

The school bell rang not long after, and Mikan couldn't help but jump on her feet. Her inside started twisting uncomfortable knots as she immediately remembered that she still had to make it through the day without causing any trouble or acting like a complete idiot who had no idea what she was doing. Narumi took notice of this and patted her on the back for encouragement. They started walking side by side as he had offered to walk together to reach the room.

"So, why have you decided to study here, Mikan-chan?" he asked. "This is a well-known school and all and it's no surprise that you chose to be here, but according to your documents, you had come all the way from the province."

Mikan nodded and said, "I just forced my mom. I have a friend who studies here, you see. Best friend since diapers, actually. I thought that I might be able to see her if I moved here. I miss her a lot."

"Are you in the same grade?" he asked, looking quite pleased. "What's the name of this friend of yours?"

"Her name's Ho—" Before she could finish her statement, Narumi had cupped her mouth with his hand before they turned to another corner.

She did not break free when he did this, but he looked into his eyes, trying to figure out what was wrong. He placed a finger against his lips, motioning her to be quiet and his eyes travelled back to the corner. She followed his gaze and her dilated at the sight; a boy, probably her age, wearing what looks to be a cat mask. A cat mask? What on earth? He was panting rather rapidly, his back against the wall and his head raised up.

"Stay here," Mr. Narumi instructed as he removed his hand from her mouth and started sort of tip-toeing across the corridors. He glanced once more on her direction, making sure she had stayed put, and signaled her to be quiet again.

He walked rather silently until he was just a meter away from Cat Guy. When he noticed the presence of Narumi, he straightened up, a trace of the faint sound of his heavy breathing. He attempted to make an escape, when Narumi swiftly made it to his side and grabbed him by the collar. He clicked his tongue as her tightened his grip on the collar of the mysterious young lad who was struggling to break loose.

"Running away again, are we? Honestly, you should stop doing this, you little rebel," Narumi said firmly.

Curiosity piqued, Mikan peeked from the edge of the wall. "Running away?" she muttered to herself as she stared at the two.

A lot of questions rambled in her mind as she tried to get a closer view. She flinched involuntarily when she saw the boy head snap at her direction. Scrambling to her feet, she retreated back to her previous position behind the edge of the wall, disappearing out of sight. She couldn't tell if he had seen her, considering the mask was covering his entire face.

Not a second later, she heard some grunts and her head instantly snapped to their direction, sticking her head out from her hiding spot to see what the commotion was about. She didn't know what happened after that. All she remembered was that guy was charging her way then everything went black.

Before she knew it, she was sprawled on her back, her head aching. It was a good thing that there was thick carpet over the floor, or her she would feel that fall in the morning. Placing both her hands on her face, she groaned, a headache attacking her from every direction on her head. She heard a thum right next to her and, blinking her dizziness away, she saw the cat mask on the ground.

In between her line of vision with the mask, she noticed an arm planted on the ground beside her her face. Flicking to her right, she found another arm and she realized that she was caged in. She squeezed her eyes shut once more and opened them, only to find herself face-to-face with a rather good-looking young lad.

He seemed in pain as he ran his hand through his jet black hair and shook his head. He raised his eyes to meet hers and she gasped at the sight of crimson. They held each other's gazes for who knows how long, until he blinked and shot her a glare.

"What _is_ this? Who are you?" he muttered disgustingly. She just gaped at him, apparently not even hearing what he just said.

_Flick!_ A finger immediately made contact with Mikan's forehead, snapping her out of her train of thought. Having realized the situation, she almost hyperventilated at the closeness between her and the boy who was… on top of her.

"Hey, I'm talking to you. Stop daydreaming, idiot," he scolded, nearing her face. A few strands of his hair briskly brushed her forehead, making her squeak, and she shoved him off rather violently. He landed on his bottom with both his hands on his sides. He squinted in pain, muttering, "Crap… You little—"

"What do you think you're doing?" Mikan cut him off, gripping her chest, trying to slow down her speeding heartbeat. She backed away a little when he sent her a murderous glare.

The boy gritted his teeth, obviously displeased by the statement. "What do you mean what was I trying to do? We _fell_. I was running and you were in the way," he said matter-of-factly.

Mikan cringed. "I-I knew that," she stuttered, her eyes glued to the ground.

There was an awkward silence between them and she felt his his stare like daggers. Her eyes remained glued to the floor, trying to avoid the chance of making eye contact and saying something completely stupid.

Just in the nick of time, Narumi came running towards them almost frantically. "Are you two okay?" he asked.

Neither of them answered and both looked away. The boy, thinking there was no sense to this, stood up, stretching, and proceeded to leave.

"Natsume-kun, I suggest you go back to class. The head—" Narumi halted, eyeing Mikan. "_He_ wouldn't like it if he found out that you're misbehaving again." After that statement, the mysterious lad, so named Natsume, stopped from his tracks. He looked over the blonde teacher from over his shoulder again with that murderous glare that didn't seem to go away.

Narumi sheepishly smiled and shrugged his shoulders. Mikan had absolutely no idea what was going on, especially when Natsume's expression softened as he sighed in defeat. She wondered what Narumi-sensei's statement did that managed to tame him.

Natsume spun around to face them, no longer looking like he wanted to escape. His attention directed to Mikan, who was still seated on the floor. He smirked at her for a moment. "Don't be so clumsy, _Polka Dots_," he said, giving as much emphasis on the last two words as possible.

Her eyes shot wide open, embarrassment washing over her. That only made Natsume smirk even wider. That crossed the line.

"PER_VERT_!" she screamed at the top of her lungs. It was so loud that Narumi had to cover her mouth.

Instead of running away, Natsume slid his hands in his pockets and walked off, opposite the direction he was about to run off to earlier. When he passed Narumi, he mumbled, "This is not over, Naru."

He continued walking until he was out of sight

"Are you alright, Mikan-chan?" Narumi asked, releasing her and helping her to stand up.

Mikan took his hand willingly and stood up, brushing her skirt and uniform clean. She still felt annoyed, but she remained calm. "I'm okay, but who was that guy? He's so freaky… and perverted! Honestly!" she went on, ranting about the reasons why she felt absolute hatred the moment she saw him. "I mean, who _is_ he?"

"You'll find out later…" Narumi said, smiling. It was as if he was implying something when he said that, but she chose to ignore it.

As she tidied herself up and pulled her uniform back to its place, she caught sight of the cat mask on the ground and picked it up with one hand. It was much heavier than she thought it was and judging by the quality and how it was designed, it was definitely not just a simple mask. "Black cat…" she mumbled, inspecting it front and back.

The bell ran once again. Narumi snapped his fingers at once. "Mikan-chan, we missed your first class. We should hurry now."

"Yes, yes. Uh, what about this?" Mikan asked, holding the mask up.

As he was about to reach for it, he stopped, smile stretching its way across his face. "Why don't _you_ keep it for awhile?"

Mikan tilted her head, staring at the mask then back at Narumi. "Huh? Why me?" she wondered.

"I'm not exactly Natsume-kun's favorite person, if you get what I mean," he started, making it up as he went. "And besides, don't you have some _unfinished _business with him? Maybe you can settle it when you decide to give that back to him."

"Well, alright," Mikan agreed without much protest. He was right, she still had to give him a piece of her mind and get back at him for humiliating her.

Narumi had a please look on his face as he nodded at her answer. He offered his hand to her and said, "Shall we?"

Grabbing his hand, she answered, "Yeah!"

* * *

Narumi clapped twice, calling the attention of the students inside the classroom. The buzzing noises started to dissolve and the students turned their attention to their teacher and the little girl next to him.

When it had finally quieted down, Narumi continued, "We have a new student today."

Mikan, who had remained frozen on her spot, took an awkward step forward and bowed her head almost exaggeratedly and flashed the class a her usual perky smile. "I'm Mikan Sakura. Pleased to meet you all!" she chirped.

The reaction of the students were the opposite of what she expected.

_"A new student in the middle of the school year?"_

_"What's with the pigtails?"_

_"By the looks of it, she must be a country girl."_

Followed by a rather awkward silence, the front row students began making booing noises. What's worse, they started throwing paper balls and other light school materials at her. Mikan couldn't do anything but pathetically dodge everything thrown at her.

_"We don't need her here!"_

This wasn't a classroom, it was a jungle filled with wild students.

"That's enough class! Mikan-chan, please take a seat at the back," Narumi said.

For some strange reason, the students stopped throwing stuff at Mikan upon their teacher's words. As Mikan made her way to her seat, all began whispering to each other and staring at her.

"What's up with those expressions on their faces?" Mikan thought, feeling a bit uncomfortable.

She sat down and sighed. But all the students were still staring at her. When Narumi-sensei started his lesson, thankfully, her other classmates stopped staring and just acted like she wasn't there.

Mikan paid no attention to Narumi's lectures. She was actually staring outside the window, watching the birds fly from tree to tree. Since she was at the back and didn't have a seatmate to tell on her, she was safe for the rest of the afternoon. This was the only time she felt so bored in class. It surprised her. She knew she was usually very attentive, even though she wasn't considered one of the brightest students in class.

She hadn't notice the time and the school bell rang seconds later. Her classmates immediately got up from their seats and ran out of the room in a humongous stampede.

"Don't forget to do your assignments, okay?" Narumi shouted to the students while waving.

Mikan approached her teacher. "Sensei, don't you think those kids are being a bit rude to you?"

"Don't worry, Mikan-chan. I'm used to them already," Narumi said with a shrug.

Mikan watched as her teacher fixed his books. "I just don't think it was right to run out of your class like that. They didn't even say goodbye!"

"I appreciate your consideration, but forget about it, Mikan-chan."

"You know, one way or another, I'm going to change the ways of this class."

"I'm sure you will." Narumi said as he patted Mikan's head. "I'm sure…"

* * *

Although Mikan tried to socialize with her new classmates, none of them paid any attention to her. Being the new girl resulted to eating lunch alone.

The room erupted with squeals and whispers. Tracing the cause of this, they found two boys came in the cafeteria; one of them, had blonde hair and ocean blue eyes. His expression was neutral, but it leaned more towards emotionless and uncaring. The other, who was more noticeable, had black hair with raven streaks and crimson eyes that pierced anything they looked at.

Now why does that description sound so familiar?

Though Mikan couldn't see who they were, the rest of the people inside the cafeteria already did. It was the only time anybody made a fuss about anything, and this day was not any different. The boys took a seat on what looked to be the popular group's table as a few more people and almost a hundred girls went closer and surrounded them.

"Okay, back it up! Back it up! Hyuuga-san and Nogi-san don't want to be crowded, you know," a boy said and the students did as they were told.

Having finally cleared off, Mikan then quickly recognized one of them.

"Hey, I know know that guy!" she muttered to himself.

"It's Natsume Hyuuga!" a girl squealed.

"So, that's his name? That perverted jerk," Mikan said as her grip tightened on the juice box she was holding that caused its contents to squirt out onto her hand. "Ew, gross."

Mikan was too distracted glaring at the said boy to explain any further. Not a moment later, however, her attention was diverted to Natsume's blonde companion. He had a rabbit resting on his lap, and he patted its head gently, his eyes growing softer as he did so.

"Hey, new girl," an annoyed voice uttered.

"Yeah?" she answered, searching the voice who called her.

She had black hair that was permed a little and olive green eyes. She went closer to Mikan with an annoyed face.

"Were you talking about Natsume-kun just now?" she asked.

"Maybe…?" Mikan answered, sweatdropping. _"I think I know her. Wasn't she in the same class as I am?"_

She glared at Mikan, "You like him don't you?"

Mikan blinked twice, "What are you talking about?"

"You're not a member of the fan club so you can't have touchy feelings with Natsume Hyuuga without me knowing about it!"

"Fan club? And who would have touchy feelings for an obnoxious jerk like Natsume Hyuuga?" Mikan shouted, which probably wasn't a very good idea.

Everybody in the cafeteria stared at her, including Natsume Hyuuga himself.

Uh-oh, she's in trouble now.

* * *

Two boys held Mikan's arms and dragged her outside. The moment they were far enough, they pushed her to the ground like a rag doll and snickered.

"What are you doing?" Mikan shouted, attempting to stand. Her right arm ached when she used it as a support to get back on her feet and she flopped to the ground once more.

A dark shadow covered her and she saw the figure of Natsume making his way towards her. The students gathered around him like loyal dogs, asking him what he wanted to do with the girl on the ground. This annoyed Mikan even more because they acted like she wasn't even there.

"Hey!" she called out.

All their heads snapped at her direction. The boys made a few nasty comments, but Natsume held a hand up, signaling them to be quiet. He looked at Mikan as if waiting for an answer.

"Aren't you that Black Cat guy from this morning?" she questioned.

"This morning?" He scrunched his eyebrows and stared into space with his head slightly tilted. There was discontent in his face when he looked at her again. "Just who are you, exactly?"

A nerve twitched. "What, you have amnesia? We met earlier this morning, remember?"

Natsume thought once more and his face lit up like a light bulb. "Oh, you're that polka-potted panties girl."

Stifled laughter followed after that remark, much to Mikan's embarrassment.

She clenched her fists into a ball. "_Now_ you remember? You pervert!"

Then it became quiet as they all stared at her in shock.

When neither of them said a word, she took the opportunity to speak up again. "Maybe _you're_ the one who manipulated our classmates to doing rude things, especially to Narumi-sensei! How could you?"

"Don't act like you know everything, transfer student!"

Mikan's head turned to the seaweed-haired girl she met earlier. The girl had a cocky expression and she looked at Mikan with disgust.

"Who are you again?" Mikan asked. "Why do you keep interfering with me?"

"I am none other than the president of the official Natsume Hyuuga fan club, Sumire Shouda," she answered, dignified. "I have every right to interfere with you, especially because you've insulted Natsume-kun."

"Ohh," Mikan mocked a laugh, slapping her forehead. "You're president of _his_ fan club? Now I've seen everything."

Sumire didn't take that comment well. "What's that supposed to mean? You're just a newbie here, so you don't have a say in this school!"

"I wasn't—"

_Splash!_

"Who do you think you are, talking to Natsume-sama like that?"

One of the boys, who were gathered around Natsume earlier, had splashed a bucket full of water in Mikan's face. He abruptly threw it behind him and scoffed as she coughed, pushing away her wet bangs that were getting into her eyes. She wiped her face and groaned at her current predicament.

"Natsume-sama rules this school. He can get you expelled if he wants to, you know!"

"Mochu, shut up," Natsume interrupted, his voice serious.

Mikan was taken aback by that threat. _Natsume rules the school? What does he mean by that? _she wondered.

When Natsume diverted his gaze back to her, she suddenly felt her whole body freeze. His eyes were like daggers piercing all over her body. He inspected her and as much as she'd like to move, she couldn't. It was like he suddenly had control over her.

Natsume crouched in front of Mikan and stared at her for a full five seconds.

He then held her chin up and said, "You've made a _big_ mistake getting in my way."

Mikan fearfully stared back into his crimson eyes, unable to utter a word, nor move a single part of her body.

"I'm going to make your life _so_ miserable, you'll regret ever coming to this hell of a school," he continued. He pushed her chin slightly and stood up, dusting his pants. He wiped his wet fingers on his shirt and walked off, leaving the girl speechless.

Mikan didn't know what was happening. She felt great fear from what one of the students said. Natsume Hyuuga ruled the school, he said. Everything was too confusing and she didn't know what to do. She stared at his retreating figure and in that instant, it was like adrenaline rushed through her whole body.

"Hey wait a second!"

Natsume stopped from his tracks. He looked back at the girl from his shoulders and raised a brow.

She stood up, clutching her right arm. There was fire in her eyes with the way she stared back at his crimson orbs. Natsume was unable to speak and he faced her as she slowly limped towards him.

"I don't know who you are _or_ what your position here is," she said, standing a meter away from him. "But let me tell you this; even if you _do_ rule this school, I'm not afraid of you!"

Everybody stared at her in awe.

"I'm not the kind of person who you think I am. Sure, I may look like a nobody to you now, but listen to me _very_ carefully, Mr. Natsume Hyuuga; I'm somebody who's gonna change the ways of this school you've influenced with your grubby acts and your nasty attitude! You won't be acting all high and mighty as long as I'm here to stop you from doing so," she declared with great confidence. "I'm Mikan Sakura. _Remember_ that name!"

Gasps were heard after Mikan's long speech. Natsume snapped out of his thoughts, eyeing the girl from head to toe.

He took two steps forward and inserted his hands in his pockets. "I'd like to see you _try_, Ms. Mikan Sakura."

Mikan crossed her arms in front of her and leaped a step until she was just a few inches away from Natsume. She looked up to meet his face, her eyes filled with determination.

"Just watch me."

The two of the glared at each other. The tension was heating up and neither one of them blinked.

A sound of someone clearing his throat loudly had interrupted the long silence. All heads turn to Ruka Nogi who had been the cause of it.

"Huh." Natsume smirked. He snapped his fingers and walked away, followed by the rest.

"Ah, I'm coming, Natsume-kun!" Sumire said in a sweet yet annoying tone as she hurriedly followed Natsume who was heading back to the cafeteria. "You'll pay for that, transfer student!"

When Mikan was sure that Natsume and his friends had left, she exhaled and fell down to her knees. "What was I thinking?" She gave out a loud sneeze after that.

Then she saw a pair of feet walking and stopping in front of her. When she looked up, she saw... him.

"Nogi… Ruka?"

* * *

So, Natsume Hyuuga was gone, but his best friend was here. _Great_. Mikan hung her head, avoiding the eye contact. A soft breeze passed by and she couldn't help but shiver. She wrapped her arms across her body, her breathing quickening.

"That took a lot of guts," he said quietly as he stared at her.

Mikan, although surprised, pulled the jacket tighter around her. "I…" she murmured. "…got carried away."

"But you meant everything that you said, right?" he inquired, looking interested.

For some unknown reasons, he talked as if he was in favor of what she did. Being Natsume Hyuuga's best friend, this was the kind of reaction she least expected from him. Not knowing what else to say, Mikan shrugged her shoulders and pursed her lips. When Ruka sensed that she wasn't going to say anything else, crouched next to her as he patted his white rabbit with his finger.

They remained like this for awhile, neither of them saying a word. Ruka just kept staring up the sky almost like Mikan wasn't even there. She didn't know why he was being nice to her, but she liked the company. It now seemed almost impossible that he and Natsume were actually best friends.

"Thank you," she blurted out.

Ruka looked at her nonchalantly then a scowl suddenly crossed his face. "Don't get the wrong idea," he said, yanking his jacket off of her. He hung it over his shoulder and stood up, walking away without another word.

"W-Wait!" Mikan called.

He was sauntering in an awfully fast pace and she found it hard to catch up to him in her current condition. Because of her continuous and rather clumsy scampering, she found herself going horizontal on the ground. She let out a loud yelp, lifting herself up with her arms. Her head throbbed momentarily, and she tried to shake the dizziness off.

A pair of feet approached her and when she looked up, Ruka was staring down at her. He knelt down with one knee to meet her face and fished out a handkerchief out of his pocket. Wiping her face, he said, "You're a mess. Go and change."

Blood rushed to Mikan's cheeks as he continued to wipe her face. She found herself idiotically gawking at him. Her body stiffened and she moved her mouth up and down, but no words came out. Ruka looked at her questioningly and Mikan fidgeted on her spot, no knowing how to react. With embarrassment and humiliation completely taking over her, she scrambled to her feet, reflexively snatching the handkerchief from Ruka's hand.

"S-Sorry!" she choked out against the lump in her throat. "B-Bye!"

Not bothering to look back, she kept running until she was out the door. She closed the door behind her and leaned back against it, sighing. She pushed herself from the door and sneaked her way back to the classroom, slightly glad that there were no people in sight. Grabbing her bag from her seat, she sprinted off to the washroom. Luckily, the it was just around the next corner and she didn't get lost.

"Hey," a husky voice called out. Mikan cringed at the voice, slowly turning around and hoping that it wasn't Ruka.

And it wasn't. It was worse. It was Natsume Hyuuga.

Her eyebrow twitched when she saw him. His expression was unreadable as he eyed her from top to bottom. Mikan pursed her lips, clutching her bag protectively and avoiding his stare. The only thing that she wanted to do was get out of there, but her feet refused to move. Just perfect.

She inhaled deeply and said hi, tacking on a fake smile to hide her self-consciousness. A simple greeting won't hurt, she thought, completely forgetting the fact that she just had an argument with the guy not a little over than twenty minutes ago.

Natsume did not respond to the greeting as he brushed past her. Mikan respired, realizing that she had been holding her breath the entire time. She glanced at Natsume one more time before rushing off to the washroom. As soon as she got there, she threw her bag next to the sink and faced the mirror, a horrified expression befalling her. Her face and uniform was smeared with muck, and the ribbons that held up her pigtails have been loosened that her hair drooped down to her shoulders. Shaking her head, she turned the faucet on and splashed a handful of water on her face, removing all traces of dirt.

When she paused to breathe, she reached out inside her pocket and pulled out a handkerchief to dry her face off. As she wiped her face, she inhaled an unfamiliar scent of men's cologne and realized that it was Ruka's handkerchief that she used. A blush tickled her cheeks when she recalled the incident. Even though Natsume Hyuuga was the bad character in the story, she was happy to know that he, at least, had a counterpart.

Mikan sighed, frustratedly. There was no hope for her messed up uniform and she wasn't able to bring any extra clothes to change into. Fortunately enough, she had brought a jacket with her and she wore it over her uniform.

Maybe this day wasn't so bad after all.

* * *

Mikan headed back to the classroom. It was already around two o'clock in the afternoon and Mikan found herself skipping almost all her classes on the first day because of the unexpected turn of events. Good thing was, the first class in the afternoon just ended and the next one would be English, Narumi's class.

The class grew quiet when they saw her. Compared to this morning, they were actually a lot more tamed this time, much to Mikan's surprise. As she walked towards her seat, all eyes turned to her and she felt her stomach churn.

Just a few feet away from the back to the room, she caught sight of Natsume Hyuuga with his feet on the desk. He seemed preoccupied with manga to bother glancing up at her, even though she had been staring at him for a full minute. What's more, what bugged Mikan the most was that he was there, sitting on her desk and nobody seemed to care at all.

"I think you're in the wrong place," Mikan said without any trace of fear in her voice. "That's _my_ seat."

Natsume, not looking away from his manga, said, "You're the one in the wrong place. This has always been my seat."

Mikan looked around and met the stares of her classmates, trying to look for confirmation. Not one of them spoke which meant that he was telling the truth. There was, however, an empty desk right next to him beside the windows, but it was occupied by a black and red backpack. Scanning the room, she found one more vacant seat, but it was next to Ruka Nogi.

She had to choose whether sit beside Ruka or Natsume. Which would be less troublesome? Definitely beside Ruka. Even though Mikan knew that she still had an awkward moment with him not too long ago, at least he didn't look like he would eat her alive. Consequently having made her decision, she turned her heel, but she stopped when she heard a loud thump behind her. Looking back, she found the backpack on the desk, now on the floor.

"Sit," Natsume ordered.

Blinking twice, Mikan looked questioningly at him, but he didn't pay attention. "I was thinking of sitting over there—"

"Sit or I'll glue you butt to the chair," Natsume drawled, a murderous look in his eyes.

"Fine already, you don't have to shout!" Mikan raised an eyebrow at him.

"Don't go thinking that Natsume-kun has accepted you by agreeing for you to sit beside him. He's just too cool to care about some nobody being his seatmate," Sumire said.

"Yeah whatever, Permy! If she likes Natsume so much, then why doesn't she go sit with him? I wouldn't care at all," Mikan glared at Sumire.

"Mikan-chan, why are you blocking the door?" Narumi said from behind.

"Uh, sorry!" she answered as she got out of the way.

Mikan proceeded to her desk, staring at Natsume. He still didn't bother to look at her for even a bit. He just put his manga away and stared outside the window as his chin rested on his palm. Natsume chose that place so that he would be next to the window, his favorite spot – he barely listened to Narumi, so it was best he had something else to draw his attention to.

Mikan just gritted her teeth and sat down, moving to the very edge of the seat so that she doesn't have to be too close to him. Before anything else, Narumi started class. Mikan managed to survive the whole afternoon without having to talk to Natsume or at least catch his attention for something she did—he was busy spacing out and looking outside the window, anyway. But it can't be helped that Mikan's classmates kept looking back at the two of them with different expressions on their faces, especially Sumire who was obviously jealous that Mikan was seated next to her beloved Natsume-kun, even though she was already seated next to Ruka.

Well, you could say that Mikan's first day at Alice High was not as good as she expected it. What's more, her encounter with Ruka made her discover some feelings she has never felt before. Some not so good things that happened were, her classmates hated her the first time they saw her, she became someone's "so called" rival for her classmate's crush against her will, and she made herself an enemy she never dreamt of having… Hyuuga Natsume.

As Mikan looked outside from her window, she saw dark clouds covering the entire night sky, hiding the stars from her sight.

"I have a bad feeling that it's going to rain tomorrow…"

* * *

**End of First Act**

* * *

**Author's Notes:** I have no idea how I ended up writing so much for the first chapter of this story. Again, I'll fix the typos when I get the chance. :) Leave a review. :D


	2. Act II: Meeting Prince Charming

**Disclaimer:** I do not own the Gakuen Alice animé or manga. It belongs to the great Higuchi Tachibana.

**Important Notice:** This is an old story I wrote back in 2008. I took it down last March 2011 for it undergo revision. That, however, turned out unsuccessful due of my busy schedule and my tendency to procrastinate. There are still loads of typos here and there, but I got too tired to finish revising everything (since each chapter is more than 3000 words long), so I think I'll leave it as it is until I get the time to properly revise.

I just thought I'd post this back up for people who wanted to read it. In this revised version, Hotaru is no longer the reason why Mikan came to Alice High. I apologize in advance for the numerous errors that you spot here. :)

* * *

**Fate Strings**

Written by EzMouse

.

_It's just another modern day fairytale. Not._

* * *

**ACT II**  
_Meeting Prince Charming_

* * *

It turned out to be a rainy morning the next day. Mikan went downstairs, hesitant to go to school. She got up fifteen minutes late than her supposed wake up time, as usual.

All the stress from her first day had greatly affected her. Not only were her classmates making it hard for her, but she got herself involved with Natsume Hyuuga. There was very little known about him. Nobody gave her a straight answer when she asked and that hinted something very unusual.

"I'm going now," Mikan said, leaving her unfinished breakfast. "I'm late."

"Don't forget your umbrella, sweetie," Yuka, her mother, added.

"Oh, thanks, Mom. Do you think the weather will clear up?" Mikan asked, looking outside the window.

"The news said it'll clear up soon."

"Oh…"

Mikan kissed her mother goodbye and headed out the door.

She walked to school, carrying just an umbrella to shield her from the rain. Most people hated this kind of weather, but she was different; she loved the rain. The sound of raindrops tapping against her umbrella soothed her.

A sharp, sudden wind blew and Mikan, carried away with her thoughts, had unconsciously let go of her umbrella. It got dragged along with the wind as it twirled on the ground. She attempted to catch it, but it ended up flying through a tall fence.

"Oh great," she mumbled.

Mikan stood under the rain, staring at the fence. There was no hope of retrieving her umbrella whatsoever. She glanced at her wristwatch; only five minutes left before school started. So much for that Perfect Attendance Award.

Her head fell, hanging.

"Sakura-san?"

Mikan's face lit up when she heard the familiar voice.

Ruka stood there, holding a blue umbrella, its body resting on his shoulder. He didn't know if it was the rain, but as he looked at Mikan, he was sure that her eyes looked almost teary. He didn't bother asking any further.

"Walk you to school?"

Mikan was unable to utter a word. The event that happened the other day flashed back in her memory and so did the embarrassment that she felt. She hesitated to give an answer, but her head nodded involuntarily. Before she knew it, she was already talking to school, sharing and umbrella with Ruka Nogi.

And she never missed the stares that the students directed at her.

* * *

Both Mikan and Ruka got to class late, but there was no teacher in the room when they entered. Their classmates started whispering to each other the moment they saw them together, which Mikan uncomfortably took and Ruka completely ignored. Their first period teacher was absent, so both of them were safe from being late. Mikan had already dried herself up and changed her clothes.

It had gotten much noisier ever since Mikan had arrived and there was hardly enough quiet time for her to read her notes. She caught sight of Ruka who was reading a pocket book as his bunny slept on his desk. She then remembered she still had his jacket with her. She immediately rushed towards the locker to get it and came running back to the classroom, taking a deep breath as she walked up to him.

"Excuse me, Ruka-san…"

Ruka looked up from his book to see Mikan bowing down to him.

He saw the black jacket in her hands and sighed, "I told you to keep it."

Mikan looked up. "But, it's yours. I can't just take this."

Ruka sighed, closed the book he was reading, and took the jacket from her hands. He rolled it to the size of a small throw pillow and put it down on the desk, taking his sleeping bunny and gently laying it on the jacket. He then took out the recent book he was reading and added "Now, if you don't mind…"

Mikan, who got distracted from the cuteness of the bunny, shook her head. "Ah, of course. Sorry to disturb you."

She left him without another word and returned to her seat.

"Hi Ruka-kun! Have you seen Natsume-kun by any chance?" came Sumire's voice as she bounced next to Ruka when Mikan had left. Ruka, who was still busy reading, completely ignored Sumire's question, as he turned to the next page of the book. Sumire sweatdropped, "Okay… I'll ask somebody else."

Mikan giggled as she saw this, thinking that Sumire never really had a chance with the two guys she admires so much. Unfortunately, Sumire heard her laughing and marched towards Mikan.

"What are you laughing about?" Sumire asked, slamming her hand on the table.

Mikan stifled her laughter. "I was just laughing. Why, is there some policy that new students aren't supposed to laugh?"

"Yes, there is," Sumire deadpanned.

"You just want Natsume Hyuuga to notice you, right?"

Sumire blushed and looked away. "It's none of your business, new student!" she said as she hurriedly got away from her.

Mikan smirked once more and turned around. But unknown to her, the same person they were talking about earlier was standing right behind her.

_"How long has he been standing there? He didn't hear what I just said, did he?"_ she thought nervously.

She slowly glanced back at Sumire, whose face was covered with a book, obviously embarrassed and was hiding her face.

"You," Natsume said as he pointed his right index finger straight at Mikan, "loud-mouthed little girl, follow me outside… _now_." He brought his arm down and snapped his fingers. With that, his allies gathered around and followed him as he headed for the door.

Mikan raised an eyebrow. "But I just got here and I won't skip class just for you!"

Natsume stopped at her words. "Well starting today, you will." He continued to walk until the door closed behind him.

"You're in trouble now," one of Natsume's allies said.

Mikan blinked twice, "In trouble? What did I do?"

A screeching sound, which came from a chair being pushed back, caught the attention of the class. Ruka Nogi stood up and grabbed his sleeping bunny together with his jacket. "He took your challenge seriously," he answered.

"But I wasn't challenging him at anyway at all!"

"It sounded pretty convincing to me." Ruka shrugged. "Let's just say that your threat to Natsume is being tested,"

"T-Tested?"

Ruka smirked and started to leave the room. "We'll just see if you could beat him in his own little game, Mikan Sakura."

Mikan's right eyebrow twitched. "I told him I was going change his nasty attitude…" She gritted her teeth. "…What have I gotten myself into?"

She nervously walked towards the exit of the cafeteria door, knowing that Natsume was waiting for her. Who knows what he might do to her. She felt like her life would end once she stepped outside the cafeteria. Before any more scary thoughts came across her mind, she inhaled deeply and shook her head. Natsume Hyuuga wasn't going to bring her down. It was the other way around.

She'll stay true to her words.

"There's no turning back now," she said, slowly opening the cafeteria exit door.

She closed the door behind her while scanning the empty campus. No sight of anyone. She started to walk a little until she saw a figure from a distance.

"I didn't know you would come out so easily," the familiar voice said, walking towards the brunette, revealing that it was Natsume himself.

Seeing from inside the cafeteria window that Natsume had already appeared, everyone—with Sumire leading—tried to storm out, until three of Natsume's allies blocked the door.

"No one is leaving this cafeteria. Orders from Natsume-sama," Mochu said, crossing his arms.

Everybody had no choice but to desperately watch outside from the windows, some even squeezing their way through the crowd just to get a better view.

"For a moment there I thought you would chicken out," Natsume snickered.

"Who said that I would chicken out? And if you're thinking about hurting me, I'm an expert at martial arts, so if you even dare lay a finger on me, I'll break your arm!" Mikan said, trying to imitate what looked to be a Jackie Chan fighting pose.

She lied, of course.

Natsume smirked. "That's really interesting, little girl."

A vein popped on Mikan's head. "Stop with the name-calling already! What did you want me here for?"

"Tell me, do you know who I am?" Natsume asked, his tone serious.

"You? Who would want to get to know someone like—?"

"I'll ask again, little girl. Do you _know _who I am?" Natsume glared.

Mikan looked at him, confused. "You're the perverted jerk that I met on my first day, Natsume Hyuuga." She raised an eyebrow at him.

"That's it?"

"No, you didn't let me finish."

"Well, please continue, then."

Mikan began counting on her fingers. "You're rude, you're obnoxious, you think the whole world revolves around you, and what's more, you are _so_ not cute!"

"Tell me something about yourself."

Having realized what Natsume just said, she stopped talking. "What?"

Natsume smirked. "You're someone I'm _really_ going to enjoy torturing."

"Enjoy…" Mikan gulped. "…t-torturing…?"

"Have your fun while you still can. I'm giving you about… three days. After that, it's my turn," Natsume said in a threatening tone.

"Three days?"

"Are you just going to repeat everything I say?" Natsume said, obviously annoyed by the girl's naivety.

Mikan had lost her patience with him. "Don't be so arrogant! Remember, I didn't come to this school to be tormented by a perverted jerk who thinks he's king of the school! You're not, okay? Deal with it!"

"That's where you're wrong, little girl." Natsume started making his way towards her.

Mikan backed away at every step Natsume made. His figure really threatened her. She was just at the level of Natsume's shoulders, or maybe a few more inches shorter than that.

"I am, in fact, the King."

Mikan twitched at Natsume's sudden actions. His face was just a few inches away from hers. If somebody had accidentally pushed one of them, they could kiss at any moment. But luckily, Natsume pulled away before anything else happened.

"Yeah, right, Your Majesty," Mikan said ironically in an attempt to annoy him.

Natsume smirked. "It's good you see things my way, Polka Dots."

Unfortunately, he annoyed her more than she annoyed him. To Natsume, it seemed more like a compliment, being called "Majesty".

"Stop calling me those stupid names, Hyuuga! I've had it with you!"

"Aww, is the poor baby going to cry?"

"Shut up!"

"Well, I've wasted my time here too much already. See ya," he said, waving his right arm back at her as he walked back inside the cafeteria where all the fangirls and students were anxiously crowding the cafeteria door.

The people immediately returned to their places once the door opeend. They acted as if nothing happened and that they weren't a least bit interested in the heating rivalry between the "King" and Mikan Sakura.

"Natsume-kun!" Sumire said, running up to Natsume with concern. "Did that new student say something mean to you? Just say so and the Natsume Hyuuga Fan Club will take care of her for you!"

"Shut up," Natsume sneered, ignoring her. "You're more annoying than that girl." Sumire backed away from Natsume words, completely heart-broken. "Ruka, let's go."

Ruka smiled. "You go on ahead. I'm going somewhere."

Natsume walked off. "Suit yourself."

* * *

"I can't believe the teachers here give so much homework. It's torture!" Mikan whined as she rested her head on her table.

"Ah, why don't you just go to the library?"

She looked up and found a bespectacled boy come up to her.

"Hello, my name is Yuu Tobita. I'm the class president. It's nice to meet you," he said, smiling.

"Nice to meet you, too, Mr. President," she greeted back. "You're officially my first friend here."

Yuu smiled. "I'm honored."

"You mentioned something about the library?"

"Yeah. If you're having trouble, you'll probably get the right answers if you check the right books," Yuu said. "You'll find that Alice High's library is quite helpful."

"Alright, let's go there!" Mikan said, immediately standing up and heading towards the door, but before she could turn the doorknob, she looked back at Yuu, "Um, where is the library, anyway?"

"I'll accompany you there, don't worry," Yuu chuckled as they walked out the door.

Upon walking, they came across two huge doors with the sign, "The Library" engraved on a golden plate stuck to the wall on top of it. The door was about sixteen feet high. It was painted white,s and its golden doorknobs shone so much that you could see your reflection in it.

"Mr. President," a girl with blue hair came up to Yuu and Mikan.

"Ah, Nonoko, how may I help you?" Yuu asked.

"Mr. Jinno wants to talk to you."

"I'll be right there. Oh, yeah, this is Mikan Sakura," Yuu added as he gestured to Mikan and back. "Mikan, this is Nonoko Ogasawara."

"Oh, I remember her. Nice to meet you, Mikan! You can call me Nonoko," the girl said, extending her hand to Mikan.

Mikan shook hands with her and smiled. "Same here."

"Sorry I just got to talk to you now. I didn't have any time," Nonoko explained, "But I really thought you were kind of cool, standing up to Natsume-san like that! No one has even dared to do that before!"

"Uh, yeah… Thanks." Mikan faked a laugh.

"Almost everyone saw how you stood up to him. You're going to be really popular now."

"Me? Popular?"

"Yes… but in some ways that aren't as good as you might be thinking, I guess." She smiled then turned to Yuu. "Shall we go?"

"Ah, yes," Yuu answered, "Mikan, you'll be fine on your own, won't you?"

"Of course I will. See you later."

When Mikan entered the library, she saw rows of bookshelves lined up. It was all incredibly unbelievable. She had never seen so many books her entire life. She quickly placed her backpack on an empty table and checked out her notes.

"Let's see, I guess we have a quiz on English next week. I better go find a book so I can study and get a high grade for a change."

Mikan started to search for some books. Impossible as it may seem, the library was humongous, and she couldn't find what she needed due to the wide selection. She didn't even bother to ask the librarian for help. If only she knew that there was this thing called, Card Catalogue. Yet, good things happen to those who are patient, and Mikan was able to find what she was looking for, an hour later.

"Ah, here it is!" Mikan shouted in glee.

"Please be quiet!" the librarian hissed and the other students looked at her,

Mikan bowed her head, "S-Sorry. "

She sighed when all the students went back to their business. She immediately grabbed the book she was looking for and headed back to the table.

"I can't believe I spent an hour looking for this stupid book. But now, I can relax and study in peace…" Before she sat down, one interesting book caught her eye. "What's this?"

She was about to reach for it when she instead, grabbed a hand that seemed to be reaching for the same book. She looked to the direction of the owner of the hand she grabbed, only to be surprised.

"Ru-Ru-Ruka-san!" she exclaimed, pulling her hand away. This caused another 'shh' from the librarian and she immediately bowed apologetically.

"What are you doing here, Sakura-san?" Ruka asked, kneeling and waving a hand in front of Mikan's face.

Mikan quickly jolted up at the sight of his face. "Ah, no… I just thought I'd come here to study a bit," she said, showing Ruka the English book she found earlier.

To her surprise, Ruka grabbed her wrist and took a closer look at it, causing blood to rush up to her cheeks.

"For our English exam next week?"

She simply nodded. Mikan was flustered by Ruka's actions. It really weirded her out, but at the same time, made her heart beat fast. And it beat even faster when he flashed her a charming smile that made her cheeks heat up again..

"You're really unique, you know that? Studying for an exam a week earlier—you must be real studious, huh?"

She couldn't utter a word, and she began mumbling to herself as she slowly backed away from total embarrassment. She couldn't take it any longer, her heart was pumping like mad and she felt like she just wanted to get away from him.

"What's wrong, Sakura-san?" Ruka asked, taking a step forward.

That did it.

Mikan turned around quickly. "Thanks a lot, Ruka-san!"

She wanted to run away, but unfortunately, she was blocked from behind. Then she saw her worst nightmare.

"Natsume?"

The librarian instantly stood up and went over to the three, furiously irritated by the noise Mikan was making. "Sakura-san, if you can't keep quiet inside the library, I suggest you leave immediately!"

Mikan got tongue-tied. "S-Sor—"

"It was my fault, not hers," Natsume cut her off.

Mikan couldn't believe that he would take the blame for her and as she was about to protest, Natsume placed a finger in front of his lips, signaling her to keep quiet and to just play along. Mikan was too embarrassed, so she just remained silent.

"Oh, Hyuuga-sama, I'm sorry. I'll leave you now," the librarian said as she walked back to her desk with a goofy yet forced smile on her face. Deep inside, she was pretty annoyed with the Mikan. When Mikan took a quick glance at the librarian, the expression on her face was enough for her to get the message.

"Don't be such a loud-mouth, Polka Dots," Natsume said, scratching his head.

Mikan, annoyed by Natsume, dragged him out the library on the arm by force.

"Hey, where are you taking me?"

"Ah, Sakura-san, Natsume…" They hadn't even realized that they left Ruka. Before he followed them, he remembered something and headed to the Fiction area and pulled out one of the books. He grinned then headed towards the librarian's desk. "Excuse me, I would like to borrow this."

* * *

When they finally got out, Mikan pushed Natsume's arm hard before she let it go.

"Loud-mouth?" Mikan hissed, rolling her fists into a ball, ready to smack Natsume's handsome face right then and there. "Why do I always end up being in trouble whenever you're around?"

"You're so ungrateful, you know that? You even had the guts to touch me," Natsume said, brushing the sleeve of his uniform as if it was touched with such filthy hands. "And to think I covered for you back there."

"Stop acting like royalty!" Mikan shouted, attempting to crash her foot down onto Natsume's. He avoided this without much effort even as Mikan kept stomping her foot down. This went on and on for a good ten seconds until Natsume had enough and quickly grabbed one of her pigtails and pulled on it.

"Ow! Hey!"

"Haven't we discussed this before?" Natsume said, slowly getting closer. "I _am _royalty. I'm the king, remember?"

Mikan smirked and pushed Natsume away from her. "And who am I? Princess Mikan Sakura from the land of Far, Far Away? Ha! Only you would think so high of yourself when you're just a bullying jerk!"

Before anything else, the library door opened and out came Ruka, who was surprised to see the two. "Oh, you were still there? Did I interrupt something?"

"It was nothing, Ruka-san!" Mikan said, faking a smile.

"Well, in that case, Natsume, let's go?" Ruka said.

"Whatever," Natsume answered.

"Sakura-san," Ruka called out, walking towards Mikan. He then placed a book in her hands.

"What's this?"

"I borrowed it for you."

"W-What? F-For me?"

Natsume looked back, eyeing the two of them. He had this annoyed look in his eyes. You couldn't explain it.

"You were reaching for it earlier, am I right? Read it when you have nothing to do. It's pretty interesting. I think you might relate to the main character. You can return it to me when you've finished with it."

"T-Thank you, Ruka-san!" Mikan thanked him.

Ruka patted Mikan's head and turned around to catch up with Natsume.

"Wait, Ruka-san!" she called out. Ruka glanced at her from his shoulder. "Hm?" "I… I forgot… to thank you… about this morning…" she stammered unconsciously.

Ruka stared at her for a while then smiled. "Don't mention it."

With that he gave a wave and both he and Natsume walked off.

Mikan stared at the book that Ruka gave her, blushing madly as she did so. She was grinning widely to herself.

"Hey," Natsume called out, surprising Mikan before she could continue fantasizing about what happened. The two boys stopped from their tracks. Natsume put his hands behind his head with his elbows pointed up. "See you later…" he said, smirking a little. "…Princess."

With that, they left a confused brunette, gaping at the two who were walking away.

"P-Princess…?"

* * *

"Okay class, today we will be discussing about…"

Mikan stared at the long confusing formulas that were being written on the blackboard by Mr. Jinno. She uninterestedly sighed as she rested her chin on her palm, trying hard not to fall asleep. It wasn't at all too hard to resist sleeping, since she had Natsume as her seatmate. What's more, he, too, was obviously not interested in the subject as much as she was.

Mikan was dead bored and she couldn't find anything else to draw her attention to. The closest one was the window, but every time she tried to even glance to her left, she meets a pair of crimson eyes glaring at her. Yeah, it was horrible for her. She couldn't help it any longer so once again she attempted to glance at her left, and luckily, Natsume was looking the other way. This gave Mikan the chance to admire the outside of the classroom.

_"I borrowed it for you."_

She recalled those very words that came out of Ruka's lips and took out that certain book out from her backpack in an instant.

"Princess Academy," she whispered to herself. "I'll read it when I get home!" She beamed to herself widely, nestling the book in her arms. She even managed to take a peek at Ruka, who was charmingly sitting across the room.

"Hey, Princess."

Mikan was immediately interrupted by the familiar voice that called out to her. Moreover, she wasn't a wee bit comfortable by the new nickname she was given, especially when he said it. She looked to the direction of the voice to find her Natsume staring at her with an eyebrow up and a bored look on his face.

"Stop daydreaming about Ruka," he droned.

Her eyes shot up. "W-What are you saying?" she muttered, trying hard not to raise the tone of her voice.

Natsume smirked at this. "I can't believe you fell in love with Ruka so fast."

"I didn't! Stop saying that!"

And at that moment, she had realized that all eyes were on her, especially the eyes of one very mad Mr. Jinno.

"Do you find my lecture uninteresting, Sakura-san? If you do, then I suggest—"

"No, Mr. Jinno!" she interrupted, "I don't find it uninteresting at all! I just saw… I-I saw a cat! I'm sorry!"

"Do not interrupt my class again," Mr. Jinno said, adjusting his glasses as he continued with his lecture.

Mikan slouched on her seat, not forgetting to give Natsume one of her glares before calming herself down.

"A cat, huh?" Natsume said to himself.

Mikan pouted at total embarrassment and out of the blue, a smile crawled on Natsume's face as he rested his chin on his left palm, practically looking like he was staring at her with amusement. Having realized this, he blinked twice and looked away, covering his mouth in the process.

"What's his problem?" Mikan wondered at Natsume's unusual behavior.

Natsume sensed he was being stared at, so he returned her stare with the usual "I-am-King" look. "What are you looking at?" he simply asked.

"_Not_ you," Mikan answered, redirecting her eyes back to the blackboard.

This will never end.

* * *

Slowly, one of the doors of the library creaked opened, revealing Mikan making her way inside once again, carrying only the book that Ruka had given her.

"This library really is huge," she said, looking over the shelves until she caught sight of a staircase that lead to the second floor of the library. "I wonder what's up there."

She started going up the stairs, inspecting every picture that was hung on the walls. When she got there, she saw that no one was in sight. There were empty chairs and the tables were close to being dusty. It seemed that it had been unused for quite some time.

"I guess this might be the perfect spot for me to read since nobody's here."

Mikan sat down, and opened the book in her hands and started reading the first chapter of the book. It had been exactly twelve minutes and she was already on the fourth chapter.

"Wow, this is really interesting! An academy for princesses?" she said aloud—maybe a little too loud.

"Will you shut up over there?" an annoyed voice called out.

Mikan didn't know why, but her body trembled at once. No, it wasn't Natsume Hyuuga's. It was a bit calmer, yet with those very words, it made the voice sound almost as terrifying. She heard something moving from the corner of the room and was surprised to see a blonde-haired guy lazily trying to sit up. It seemed as if he was sleeping a while ago before she woke him up by accident.

She neared the person and apologized, "Sorry for disturbing you…" she said, trying to see the face of the person in front of her. She really didn't want to make more enemies than she had now.

"How could you be so—" The boy stopped when he saw her face. "—Sakura-san?"

Mikan's eyes widened and she found a pair of blue eyes staring back into her hazel ones with a surprised yet sleepy expression.

"…Ruka-san?"

* * *

**End of Second Act**

* * *

**Author's Notes:** I didn't edit this part much, so I'm terribly sorry for the inconsistency with the sentence structures and for the errors. Leave a review if you haven't read it yet? :)


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